Leather-graining machine



G. S. NEELEY LEATHER GRAI N ING MACK-l1 NE fizzle/dof Patented Get. 13,1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE s. NEELEY, or woon RIVER, ILLINOIS, AssIGNoR or ONE-HALF ToGRIFFIN WATKINS, or ALToN, ILLINOIS. Y

LEATHER-GRAINING- MACHINE.

Application led January 7, 1925. Serial No. 1,061.

To all z/zo'nt I? may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE S. Nun-Lui?, a citizen of the'United States,residingat Wood River, Illinois, have invented a certain new and usefullmprovement in Leather-Graining Machines, of which the following is aspecification, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in leathergraining machines and the objects of the invention are to provide amachine wherein the presser` roller or drum utilized for operating uponthe leather is maintained at all Vtimes in proper operative position,thereby preventingr slippage lor overrunning of said drum andeliminating loss of time and labor caused by the drum getting out ofstep with the cycle of operation of the machine.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a simple and eiiicientauxiliary brake Vfor the drum, which brake automatically retards therotative movement ofsaid drum when thelatter is operating` free from thefrictional engagement with the table or the leather Stock.

Still further objects of the invention are to provide a leatheroperating presser roller and a revoluble member for imparting rotarymovement thereto, Said revoluble mem- .ber carrying a brake designed toexert braking action upon said drum for preventing the overrunningthereof past its starting point.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in certainnovel features of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinaftermore fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompany- .ingdrawings, in which- A y Y' 4 Figure l is a side elevational view 'of themachine.

Figure .2 is a vertical crosssection taken on lines .2-2 ofFigurefl.l y

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the mechanism utilized for imparting.rotary V.movement to the presser roller Iand showing it atfthebeginningof `the' operating or rearward stroke. y Y

v Figure 4 is a similar view showing the parts in position at the end ofthe operating stroke. y

Figure 5 is a transverse crosssection `of the rum vor, presser rollerand showing the same at the beginning' of the operating Stroke, with therotating mechanism occupying the position shown in Figure 3.

Figure G is an enlarged cross section of the drum showing the same inposition at the end of the operating stroke and corresponding to Figure4.

Figure 7 is a detail elevational view of the auxiliary brake.

Figure 8 is a cross section taken on line 8-8 of Figure 7.

The leather graining machine to which the present invention is directedis used to produce, artificially, grain in the leather. Thisisaccomplished by placing the leather on the table of the machine with aportion of said leather folded over as shown in Figure 5. A presser drumor roller is movable in a horizontal plane above the table and engages,when Said table .is raised, the folded portion of the leather and intraveling above said table creases said leather and produces therein thegrain effect.

A number of operations is required for each piece of leather and aftereach operation the position of the leather is changed so as to present adifferent portion thereof to the operative action of the roller or drum.The druln'is preferably Semi-cylindrical in shape as only one-half ofthe peripheral surface of the roller is utilized to roll out theleather, this being done during the rearward movement'of the drum.During the forward or return movement of the drum, the table occupiesavlowered position and the operator rearranges the leather on the tablein readiness for the next rearwardA or rolling action ofthe drum. Whilethe drum is being restored to its starting position, it isout offrictional contact with the table and `consequently there is nolrestraint upon the drum so that the latter, due to the momentum, isaptto run past its startingv position fSo that at the nextoperatingmovement of the'roller,.the latter instead of Yengaging theleather at its starting point may bel .brought 4into engagement with theleather `at a point located from one-quarter to one-half of theoperating surface `of the drum. Thus it Vhappens that the entire surfaceof the drum is notutilized in rolling out the leather and inasmuch-asvthe roller has to complete its vrearvvard `movement before it can bebroi'ifttogits starting position, thsamlachine is? operating vMilf lVidle during the last half of the operating stroke. Such a condition isobjectionable because it requires a greater number of operations tofinish a given piece of leather and the efficiency of the machine isimpaired due to the loss of time and labor caused by the improperpositioning of the drum.

To obviate these objectional features and insure accurate operatingalignment of the drum, I provide an auxiliary brake carried by one ofthe gears used to impart rotary motion to the drum, said brake being infrictional engagement with the annular face of a disk which is conjoinedto the drum .so that said drum is not free to rotate under the inuenceof momentum but is held at all times under restraint due to thefrictional engagement of the brake. with said disk.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, 1() indicates aframework in the rear end of which is supported in suitable bearings ashaft 11 driven in any suitable manner and having fixed thereon drivewheels 12 which are disposed on each side of framework 10. Pivotallyconnected to each drive wheel is one end of a connecting rod 14, theopposite end of which is pivotally carried by one end of a shaft 15which extends between the side frames of framework 10 and is providedwith rollers 1G which operate in horizontally disposed guideways 17 offramework 10. v

A drum or presser roller 18, preferably semicylindrical in crosssection, is fixed on shaft 15 intermediate the sides of framework 10 andthe convex face of member 18 is preferably lined with a rubber plate18a. A table 19 is disposed below and normally spaced from drum 18 andis adapted to be raised and brought into frictional engagement with thedrum by means of a pedal 20. This pedal is carried by levers 21 whichyare connected by links 22 to the inner ends of levers 24 fulcrumed at25 and having their outer ends connected by links 26 to table 19.

In the operation of the machine, the leather is placed on table 19 andone portion of said leather is folded over with the crease thereofarranged near the starting point of the drum. The table is then raisedso as to` bring the leather in engagement with the cylindricalperipheral surface of drum 18. Under proper operating conditions, thepoint of contact of the drum with the leather' should be just at thebeginning of the convex face portion of the drum as shown in Figure 5.

In order to rotate the drum against the line of travel and against thefolded portionv of Vthe leather so that .the latter is pressed andgradually unfolded on the table as the drum travels rearwardly,stationary racks 27 and 28 are provided in the sides of framework 10 andgears 29 and 30 meshing with said racks are loosely arranged on shaft 15adjacent to guideways 17. Each gear carries a pawl 31 which is adaptedto engage a notch 32 formed in the peripheral face of a disk 34 fixed toshaft 15 adjacent to each gear 29 and 30. Pawls 31 are .so disposedrelative to disks 34 that the pawl of one gear is adapted to engage thecorresponding disk and interlock said gear and the drum whereby thelatter is rotated in one direction by virtue of the interengagement ofsaid gear with the corresponding rack and the pawl of the other gear isadapted to engage the corresponding disk and establish rotativeconnection between that gear and the drum when said drum is traveling inan opposite direction.

1t has been found in practice that during` the return movement of thedrum when the latter is free and out of frictional engagement with thetable, said drum due to the momentum will run past its starting point sothat during the next operating movement of thev drum, the latter willget out of step with theV cycle of operation and will move out ofengagement with the leather and the table before the. completion of therearward. or operative .stroke of the machine.

In order to eliminate the troublesome features and preserve true andaccurate operative relation between the drum and the rest of themechanism, I provide an auXiliary brake mounted on that gear which isinterlocked with the drum during the return movement thereof so thatsaid drum is held under restraintby said brake and will not overrun itsstarting point. This brake consists of a segmental member or shoe 35,the inner face of which is provided with a brake lining 36 adapted toengage the annular face of one of the disks 34. Shoe 35 is provided withears 37 in which are seated the ends of rods 38. These rods pass throughlugs 39 which are fixed and project laterally from spokes of gear 29. Aspring 40 is arranged on each rod 38 and one end thereof presses againstlug 39 while its opposite end bears against a nut 41 which is.screw-seated on the free end of rod 38. Nut. 41 can be adjusted toregulate the tension of the spring and increase or decrease the forcewith which brake 35 is applied to disk 34. A lock nut 42 is provided tohold nut 41 against displacement. A nut 44 is arranged on each rod 38between ear 37 and lug 39 and forms a stop for limiting the inwardmovement of brake 35. A nut 45 is used to lock nut 44 in position.

The tension of springs 40 is such that the brake 35 is held to disk 34with sufficient pressure to prevent free movement of the drum butwithout impeding the operativeness thereof. As the brake is mounted ononeof the gears'which is loosely arranged fgaeemse on the shaft of thedrum, said brake travels with the drum and holds the latter underrestraint and is at all times in proper operative relation therewith.

l claim:

l. A leather graining machine comprising in combination a revolublepresser roller, means for moving said roller in a horizontal plane7 andbraking means movable with said roller and exerting braking' action onsaid roller tor preventing free rotary movement thereof.

2. A leather graining machine comprising in combination a. revolublepresser drum, means for moving said drum in a horizontal plane7 a diskin fixed relation to said drum, and a brake movable in unison With saiddrum and engaging said disk for counteraeting the momentum of saidroller and retarding the rotary movement thereof.

3. A leather graining machine comprising in combination a presserroller, means for moving said roller in a horizontal plane, a disk lixedto each end of said roller, means for imparting revoluble motion to saidroller in predetermined relation to its line of movenient in ahorizontal plane, and a brake carried by said revoluble means andengaging one of said disks for exerting rictional pressure against saidroller during the return stroke thereof.

Ll. A leather graining machine comprising in combination a presserroller movable in a horizontal plane, a notched disk in fixed relationwith veach end ol said roller, a stationary rack arranged adjacent toeach end of said roller, a gear loosely mounted adj a* cent to each diskand revoluble through its engagement with the corresponding rack, apaivl carried by each gear adapted to engage the corresponding disk andinterlock the latter with its gear in one direction, and a brake carriedby one of said gears and frietionally engaging a corresponding disk forexerting braking action against said roller and maintaining it inproper' operative relation.

ln a leather graining machine, the combination with a presser roller,revolubly mounted and movable in a horizontal plane and a disk conjoinedto said roller, of a brake movable in a plane with said roller andfrictionally engaging said disk for eliminating free revoluble movementof said roller. l

6. In a leather graining machine, the combination with a revolublepresser roller movable in a horizontal plane and a disk con joined tosaid presser roller, of a member movable in correlation With saidroller, and a brake carried by said member and yieldingly engaging saiddisk for restraining the rotary movement of said roller and maintainingit in proper operative relation.

In testimony whereof I hereunto ax my signature this 27th day of Deo.,1924.

GEORGE S. NEELEY.

